Proclamation on A Day of Tears in Arkansas

WHEREAS:  On January 22, 1973, the majority of the United States Supreme Court ruled that abortion was a right secured by the United States Constitution; 

WHEREAS:  That decision nullified abortion laws in Arkansas, permitting elective abortion across the state;

WHEREAS:  The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision stood for nearly fifty years before being reversed in 2022;

WHEREAS:  Since January 22, 1973, over two hundred thirty-seven thousand (237,000) unborn children have perished in Arkansas because of abortion; 

WHEREAS:  The ninety-third General Assembly passed H.C.R. 1007 recognizing January 22, in perpetuity, as the “Day of Tears” in Arkansas and encouraging the citizens of Arkansas to mourn the innocent unborn children who have lost their lives to abortion; 

WHEREAS:  On January 22, 2023, hundreds of Arkansans will take part in the annual March for Life to recommit to protecting the most vulnerable among us and to celebrating the dignity of every human life;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, acting under the authority vested in me as the Governor of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim January 22, 2023, as: 

“A DAY OF TEARS IN ARKANSAS” and I urge all citizens to join voluntarily in solemn remembrance of the innocent unborn children who have lost their lives to abortion.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 20th day of January, in the year of our Lord 2023.